A personal blog of this 76 year old gay man retired to Delaware with his long term partner/husband. My life has been and continues to be a fabulous journey. This blog is my humble attempt to memorialize my past and current life. Yes, this blog is all about me. Each of us is unique and has a story to tell. This is my story. Someday it will be a movie. What a life I've had and the adventure continues! I am on of the lucky ones. I'm still here, making waves.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Recirculating

Here almost a week went by and I haven't done a post. "What's going on in your world Ron that you aren't posting everyday?"Well folks, here is the answer: ScrabbleYes, Scrabble is my new obsession. Specifically online Scrabble.

Want to know who is primarily responsible for this new obsession of mine? (Of course you do). Take ONE big guess:

There's the culprit. That retired Canadian police department fingerprint inspector, that part-time Sixties band bass player, that full-time movie extra, that vegan minimalist who lives in that ultra modern house (or "hoose" as he says it) in Toronto: yep, that's him:

PAT

Pat, one of the few (probably) only people in the world who can put up with my many idiosyncrasies and still like me for the wonderful fellow that I am (hey, no need for modesty here, this is after all MY blog).

When I visited Pat last year in Toronto, Canada he asked me to play a game (or two) of Scrabble with him. I acceded thinking that I'm going to excel at this word game because I have read so much and like to write. Oh how mistaken I was. First game Pat skunked me.

Second game, skunked again. Third game:

SKUNKED!

Well, you get the idea. Ole Ron wasn't a smart at he thought he was.

The last time I played Scrabble was perhaps when I was in sixth grade. I never progressed much past simple three and four letter words. I knew nothing about Scrabble strategy. (Strategy? You say "Strategy?" Yes, Virginia, there is a Scrabble strategy.)

Well, long story short, after getting beat so many times by Pat I made it my mission to vastly improve my Scrabble playing skills.

My last game with Pat I did win. "Crudites" was my winning bingo word; last play which left Pat's mouth agape and challenging my word - which he, of course, lost).

The thrill of victory; ah so sweet! Of course there was also the agony of defeat which wasn't so sweet.

Please excuse me for going on into a long blog post so I'll try to tighten this up:

I never like chess (it made my head hurt thinking of all those moves ahead).

I never got involved in computer (mainly Facebook based) games because I just didn't have the time.

Over the years I have turned down many an invitation from my Facebook friends to play their silly (I thought) games (like that "Farm Animals thing). But now folks, in my quest to be the ABSOLUTE BEST at Scrabble, I'm playing multiple games with friends on Facebook. I'm so obsessed I'm even playing with random strangers on Facebook. Yes folks, I am now a Promiscuous Scrabble Player.

So how am I doing? Well, one thing I'm not losing every game like I was at the beginning. And I'm getting better at making word more than three letters without giving my opponents opportunities to make the big score by playing triple word scores.

So every morning I check my Scrabble boards on Facebook (about twenty now and moving up) to see how many are my turn.

I am loving this interaction with friends like Dr. Spo who, of course, is terrific at Scrabble and Sean who is also a master at Scrabble.

Sean recently informed the world he was closing his blog. I have to admit that occasionally I have thought of ending my blog but I just can't do it. I don't want to lose all the friends I've made through my blog. Plus, I just like to write since I had my first pen pal when I was twelve years old.

Maybe it's because I was and am lonely and always in a quest to make new friends. Or maybe it's just because I like to talk about myself, my lifelong quest to find out who I am. Or maybe it's a combination of those two factors.

Whatever, I will continue to write my blog posts, but maybe not as often as I have in the past. Of course this obsession will eventually pass (they all do) and I will be back to my daily posts (or more, you know me when I'm hot on a topic).

So bear with me folks. I'm still here ruffling feathers and enjoying life to the fullest.

And of course looking forward to the day when I can skunk Pat and my friends on a regular basis. Ah yes, life is good.Oh, the photo at the top of this blog? Drama this past week in getting this contraption installed. In more normal times I would write about it but these aren't normal times.

26 comments:

Greetings, Ron! I loved that you wrote "Yes folks, I am now a Promiscuous Scrabble Player."

Were you having a senior moment in remembrance of those hazy disco years back in Philadelphia when the competition was not played out on the Scrabble board? Or was it your Mac's spell checker erroneously auto-correcting a misspelling of "prodigious?" Or are you indeed a promiscuous Scrabble player?

Hey Bob,Thanks for signing your name to your comment. Always nice to have a name to identify with. Your name sounds very familiar. Did you know Brad Corrill of Cincinnati? He was a boyfriend of mine way back in 1980 when both of us lived in Philadelphia. He moved back to his hometown of Cincinnati in 1980 (I gave him a one-way bus ticket when our relationship wasn't working out because of his promiscuity and drug abuse). I never stopped caring for him. He died recently. Too young. Thanks again for your comment and no, "promiscuous" wasn't a spell check misnomer. I am indeed now a Promiscuous Scrabble player.Ron

I’m grateful that your blog offers the option to post anonymously, since I avidly avoid signing up with Google, Facebook or other “social” sites that exist to prey on us by gathering information to sell to their “partners” who exist to bombard us with targeted ads based on our respective “profiles.”

You recognize my name from my e-mail notifying you of Brad’s death. We were friends of many years (since the early 1970s), so it was sad to witness him gradually slip away through the years. I regard the video that you so skillfully crafted and shared here an amazingly beautiful remembrance, for which I’m particularly grateful.

At our age (73 years), I find promiscuity only a fond memory. Needless to say, I’m impressed that you’ve managed to become a promiscuous Scrabble player.

Bob,I remember you now. I have to agree with you about your caution on signing up with any of the social media websites. They exist to make money off of your name and address by ads. I am bombarded I have to admit. In fact, I basically stopped checking my e-mails and only communicate through FaceTime, Messages (on Apple products), text messages and comments like this. I occasionally check my e-mails for a "real" e-mail but all the spam has ruined e-mails for me just the way I don't answer my landline phone because 95% of the calls are from telemarketers.By the way, did you see the video I made of me and Brad in Provincetown when we visited there in 1980? I posted it to YouTube.Keep in touch Bob.Ron

Jay,I resisted Facebook games for years but now I am hooked, but just with this one game - Scrabble. I would love to play you at Scrabble. In fact I think it would be fun to have a three-way with you, me and Dr. Spo. Presently I'm playing a four-way with Dr. Spo, Sean and Pat. Come join us!Ron

I have a feeling you won't be getting skunked for long. I've heard somewhere that practice makes perfect......

Much like you, I've thought about abandoning my blog, but I enjoy publicly venting my emotions too much. I suppose most people don't like reading long blog posts - - but at least you and I use LARGE FONTS so that our literary efforts are easily readable (a caustic hint to other bloggers).

I recently got pregnant with egotism and gave birth to a new blog - - so now I have twins.(a crappy analogy, but what the hell.....)

Oh you are so right Jon, I won't be skunked for long at this Scrabble game. I know my vocabulary and love words. And as you say, now it's just a matter of practice and discipline to tighten up my Scrabble skills. I was never much for crossword puzzles and definitely not chess (not smart enough) but Scrabble is just the right combination of chance, skill and competition and useful learning (new words) that it makes it not only fun for me, but a nice form of relaxation. You are the reason I got the idea to use LARGE FONTS. Your blog postings are not only interesting for content but they are easy on these old eyes. Congratulations on your new blog. I tried starting a new blog but just couldn't keep up with it. It's still out there. Maybe someday I'll go back to it. It's on Word Press.Like you I have occasionally thought of giving up my blog but I can't. Just can't do it. And I hope you don't stop blogging either. We all want to know what's going on in Jon's world. I am convinced the best is yet to come and will far surpass anything you experienced during your younger days in LaLa Land.Ron

Ron - Are you talking about me - look at that most innocent face. Alright, guilty as charged. I have been playing for the last several years with my friend Ed. Actually there used to be 4 of us. But Sue moved away and Tev got married. We see each other at Christmas for a game at Ed's Christmas dinner but that doesn't even always happen as there are spouses and children. I'm on a tangent here - but it's funny that we used to get together at one another's houses and the host would provide a meal and we'd get a couple of games in. And then one day Sue more or less said - lets make a pact to do this forever - and of course right after that it pretty well dissipated. But as I would often tell you, Ron, about our exciting scrabble matches you took an interest to play some with me while visiting me in Toronto. Wow - you were an easy match back then. Now you are formidable. And I dare say with all the concurrent games you play on line I believe you have now surpassed the number I may have played throughout my life. But it's a great game and that is why it so popular. It is easy to become addicted.

Pat,I can't thank you enough for introducing me to this wonderful form of relaxation that is playing online Scrabble. Not only relaxation but I am learning and feeding into our common need for competition and to trounce (now there's a good Scrabble word) our opponents. Thanks again Pat!Ron

I've often thought about playing games on the computer (especially chess, crosswords or even bridge - and scrabble also) but have always not taken the plunge for fear of getting addicted and losing valuable time for other things, reading in particular. You illustrate just how easy it is to become an addict so I'll postpone it a bit longer - and, besides, with my computer's current unreliability it wouldn't be wise to go down that route just yet.

Good to know you're 'back' to blogging - and while I'm still just about able to read them.

Ray,I would LOVE to play a game of Scrabble with you (or two). Oh please let's do it! Are you a member of Facebook? I know you would enjoy playing Scrabble and I know I would enjoy the competition with you, especially from your British usage of words.Ron

It's something like 25 years since I last played Scrabble, Ron, and even up to then I'd only rarely played, not at all because of lack of interest but simply because I had no one to play with. If I ever did do it on computer I'd have to start at a very basic level and see if I could work myself upwards, so I'd be a real bore until getting anything like as adept as you seem to be from your example above.I've never played any games on computer, Facebook or anywhere else, and if I were to start now my fear is that this equipment won't take the pressure and lock me out of a game that's already in progression.Sorry, I wish it was otherwise, but I too would dearly love to play Scrabble or anything else with you. However, I notice you might have found a new partner in Karen, below.Btw: It's taken me nearly a full hour to type this reply to your request, such is my tortoise-like advancement on this thing. Infuriating!

Ray,Some day, SOME DAY, you will get a new computer and please, PLEASE, get an Apple computer. Then you will be flying. You don't know what you're missing. I couldn't afford this computer but what the hey? I don't have that long to go and I just got tired of my old sluggish computer. I am so glad I forked over the big bucks for this one. Make my life so much easier and enjoyable. Priorities Ray, priorities.Ron

Hi Ron, The little bit I got to chat with Pat over at Lewes last year. I agree your Pat is a dear and a swell guy, you're both lucky you found each other. I've been busy working and trying to get a guy of my own. So far not much luck here in middle America. And just to let you know, I did see your invite to play Scrabble, I just thought I don't know how much I be on Facebook to play. I found my first boyfriend playing a game of Yahtzee at his house one Saturday night. ;-)

Randy, I am convinced that you will find a new boyfriend there in the Middle of America. You're just too nice of a guy and there are so many other guys like you. I was lucky to find Pat, (actually he found me). We are so much alike, it is eerie. You too will find someone just like you and who will appreciate you for the fine man that you are.Ron

Sean, You are tough! Wow! That one game we played, right after I beat you by one point (a fluke, I assure you), you really trounced me. I felt like a tourist in Jurassic World after the velociraptors got loose, I got trounced at every turn. I played a Four-Way with Dr. Spo and again, got trounced, badly. Up until you the toughest opponent I've played is Pat. I suggested to Pat for him to challenge you to a game (or two). I would love to see how that works out. Pat is a fierce competitor. Nice guy otherwise but when it comes to a Scrabble game he is a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde. A "new Pat" emerges. Before last year when I played Scrabble with Pat (old fashion board game at his home in Toronto), the last time I played was in high school. I quickly found out I had a lot to learn. That's what I'm doing now playing multiple games on the Internet with different opponents, learning. My goal is to beat the pants off of Pat when I visit him at the end of next month and we go back to the old fashion board game. And thank you for playing Scrabble with me. Sometimes I want to strangle you with those words you play (smile) but I know it's all in the "learning" process, painful as that might be. Have a great day!Ron

Dr. Spo,I doubt that, you with your command of the English language. Yet it will be fun and a challenge to play Scrabble with you. I'm always for learning and improving and even though it is frustrating to lose so big against you guys all the time, I know that this is the only way I will improve my game.Ron

Sweet February

I am a 76 year old gay man who retired to Delaware eleven years ago from Pennsylvania with my partner now husband of 53 years. We left Pennsylvania to escape the ever increasing high taxes for the more tax friendly state of Delaware. Now living on a fixed income supplemented by a part-time job as a front desk agent at a local hotel, we are making the most of our declining years. We've both had a fabulous life but we are slowing down now but still having a wonderful life. This blog I write is partly for my own therapy and to share and make friends with others out there in the universe.